Means for holding cars on sidings.



PATBNTED MAR. 29, 1904. H. sMELsBR.

MEANS FOR HOLDING GARS 0N SIDINGS. No mmm LPPLIUATION FILED mm; 27,190s.

T oo'l 3 BHBETB--SHEET 1 No. 755,949. PATENTED MAR. 29', 1904. HLSMELSBR.

MEANS FOR HOLDING GARS 0N SIDINGS.

APPLIOATION FILED JUNI'. 27. 19oa.

no 110ML.v a sums-SHEET z.

7N: nonna PETERS co.. momumo., wnsnmcmm. o. c.

' thereto.

l UNITED STATES atented March 29, i904.

PATENT EEICE. l

HoEATio sMELsER, oF ASHTON, NEBnAsKA.

MEANS Fon HOLDING CARS oN SIDINGS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 755,949, dated March29, 1904.

Application led Tulle 27, 1903. A Serial No. 163,422. (N0 InOdBlJ To allwhom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HoRATro SMELsER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Ashton, in the county of Sherman and State of Nebraska, haveinvented new and useful Improvements in Means for Holding Cars onSidings, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to means for preventing cars or otherrolling-stock from accidentally running off a-siding into a main trackwith which the siding .is adapted to connect.

The invention consists of holding means arranged in operative relationto the rails of a siding to engage the wheel, axle, or part of a truckof a car to prevent the latter from moving after it has been properlypositioned on the siding, the lsaid holding means being thrown intoengaging position at the time the switch-lever is operated to open thesiding or cut out the latter in relation to main track.

The invention further contemplates an organization of cooperatingelements whereby the holding means for the rolling-stock will bedisposed in inoperative position in relation to the rails of the sidingwhen the switch-lever .is thrown to close the siding into the maintrack. I

The invention further consists in the details of construction andcombination of the several parts, which will be more fully hereinafterdescribed and claimed.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a top plan View of a portion of a maintrack and siding, showing\the features of the invention applied Fig.l 2is a longitudinal vertical section on the line 2 2, Fig. 1, on anenlarged scale, showing a holding means lowered in full lines andelevated in dotted lines. Fig. 3 is a detail longitudinal sectionshowing a portion of a connecting-rod and a springbuffer thereforembodied in the organization. Fig. 4 is a side elevation of a portion ofa siding, showing a modification in the construction of the holdingmeans. Fig. 5 is a transverse vertical section through the siding Shownby Fig. 4 and the holding means shown arranged over the rails of thesiding. Fig. 6

is a top plan view of a portion of a siding,

showing the holding means illustrated by Figs. 4 and 5 disposed over therails. Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 6 with the holding means thrlownout of engagement in relation to the ral s.

Similar numerals of reference are employed to indicate correspondingparts in the several views.

Referring to Figs. 1, 2, and 3, the numeral 1 designates a main track,and 2 a siding, the latter and the main track having switch-rails 3 and4, respectively cooperating therewith and attached to a switch bar orconnection 5, operatively secured to a switch-lever 6, the bar 5 andlever 6 being held on a switch-base 7. On the base 7 a bell-crank lever8 is movably disposed in horizontal position and has one arm terminallyslotted, as at 9, to engage a pin or stud 10, rising from the bar 5.r1`he remaining arm-of the bell-crank lever has a retractile spring 11secured thereto and also attachedto an adjacent tie, the functionY ofsaid spring being to restore the bell-crank lever to normal position.Also attached to the arm of the bellcrauk lever to which the spring 11is secured is one end of a connecting-rod 12, lwhich is formed in twosections 13 and 14, the section 13 at the end opposite that which isattached to the bell-crank lever being provided with a plunger or head15 and movable in an elongated casing 16. rlhe section 13 is freelyslidable through one end of the casing 16, and disposed inthe casingonopposite sides of the plunger or head 15 are buffer-springs 17 and 18,which cushion the section 13 when moved by the bell-crank lever 8 andalso the entire connecting-rod in a manner which will be presently setforth. The spring 17 also serves to assist in restoring the bell-cranklever 8 and the section 13 of the rod 12 to normal position. The section14 of the rod is attached to the end of the casing 16 opposite thatthrough which the section 18 has movement, and lsaid section 14 also hasa sliding movement through a guide or clip 19 on one of the ties. Theend of the section 14 of the connecting-rod opposite that secured to thecasing 16 is Vmovably attached to a crank terminal 2() of a rock-shaft21, extending transversely under the siding-rails and disposed insuitable bearings 22. rlhe rock-shaft has a pair of arms 23 securedthereto, with antifrictional rollers 24 at their free ends, said armsbeing spaced apart from each other and held in a constant positionbetween the rails of the siding. The arms 23 cooperate with holdingmeans adapted to engage the axle of a car-truck and consisting in thepresent instance of elongated bars 25, having upturned hooks 26 at oneend and the opposite ends secured to a pivot rod or connection 27,extending through movable bearing-blocks 28, slidably mounted in boxes29, secured on a tie in rear of the rock-shaft 21, and between eachbearing-block 28 and one end of its box a cushion-spring 30 isinterposed. The cushion-springs 30 always tend to forcethebearing-blocks and the holding means carried thereby backwardly from therock-shaft 21, and said springs will be stiff enough to set up aresistance suiiicient to overcome any tendency to a loose slidingmovement of the bearing-blocks 28, for a purpose which w' ll be morefully hereinafter explained. The arms 23 are so arranged that therollers 24 thereof will engage the end edges of the bars 25, said barsalways being in contact with the rollers.

Then the switch-rails 3 and 4 are shifted to throw the siding into themain track, the holding means just explained remains in lowered positionbetween the rails of the siding, and after a car has been run off themain track onto the siding and the switch-rails thrown in a reversedirection to disconnect them from the rails of the main track theholding means will be thrown upwardly, as indicated by dotted lines inFig. 2, so that the hooked terminals of the bars 25 will be at a properelevation to engage the nearest axle of the car-truck, said holdingmeans remaining in locked elevated position, and will resist anytendency to an accidental depression thereof. The car after beingdisposed on the siding may not be in direct engagement with the holdingmeans; but any tendency of the car to move over the siding toward themain track will be obstructed by the hooked terminals of the bars 25engaging the car-axle nearest thereto, and to prevent breakage orinjurious strain of the holding means when the car-axle comes intoengagement therewith the springs 30 are used as well as the spring 18 inthe cushioning device interposed between the sections 13 and 14 of theconnecting-rod 12, and by this means the entire organization ofcontributing elements will be prevented from becominginjured byaforceful impact of the car-axle with the bars 25. It is well known thatafter cars on a siding are unloaded frequently the brakes are let offand the cars so liberated are apt to be shifted by strong wind orotherwise started over the siding and pass across a portion at least ofthe main track, thereby obstructing the latter and often causing seriousaccident. rlhe holding means in the form thus far described will preventaccidental movement of the cars or car on the siding.

Figs. 4, 5, 6, and 7show a modification in the construction of holdingmeans, the connecting-rod 12, bell-crank level' 8, and spring 11 beingemployed as in the first form. In this modification levers 31 arepivotally connected at one end to one of the ties of the siding-railsand held at a suitable elevation above the latter, said levers beinginclined upwardly from their pivotal point to their free end, wherewedges 32 are formed by enlargements of the levers. There are two of thelevers 31 used in connection with the siding-rails and disposed outsideof the latter, and the wedge enlargements are materially wider than theremaining portion of the levers to extend over the siding-rails, asshown by Figs. 5 and 6. Secured on a tie or other base-support adjacentto the wedge enlargements of the levers 31 are supports 33, having theirinner sides closely fitted against the outer portions of the rails andtheir upper surfaces in the same plane as the upper surfaces of therail-treads, and on this support the wedge enlargements have slidingmovement inwardly and outwardly in relation to the rails of the siding.On one end of the tie to which the supports 33 are secured a bell-cranklever 34 is horizontally disposed, and to one arm thereof is attachedone end of the connecting-rod 12. A motion-transmitting rod orconnection 35 is attached to the remaining arm of the bellcrank lever 34and extends transversely under the siding-rails to one end of a rock-arm36, centrally fulcrumed on the end' of the tie opposite that to whichthe said bell-crank lever is applied. or connection 35 is attached tothe wedge enlargement on one lever 31 nearest the bellcrank lever 34,and the wedge enlargement on the opposite lever is connected to arock-arm 36 through the medium of a link 37, so that when the bell-cranklever is moved in opposite directions the two Wedge enlargements will besynchronously operated. The operation of this modified construction ofthe holding means is practically similar to that of the holding meansfirst described, and when the switch-rails for the siding are throwninto connection with the main-track rails the levers 31, with theirwedge enlargements, are moved outwardly away from the sidingrails, asshown by Fig. 7. After a car or cars pass over onto the siding and theswitchrails and the latter are thrown out of engagement in relation tothe main-track rails the levers 31 are both moved inwardly, and theirWedge enlargements are disposed over the rails of the siding andobstruct the passage of rolling-stock over said rails. The freeterminals of the wedge enlargements stand at a IOO rl`hemotion-transmitting rod considerable elevation above the rails of thesiding, and the rims of the car-wheels are adapted to engage the sameand prevent accidental movement of a car or cars oli' a siding.

The holding means in either of its forms is comparatively inexpensive inits structure and application, and it will be observed that .the sameprinciple is involved in both forms shown, and the operation of eitherthe hooked bars or the lever with wedge enlargements will be eiectedthrough the connecting-rod 12 and bell-crank lever 8, movably attachedto the bar or shifting means secured to the switch-rails. The parts ofboth forms of holding means are also of a strong and durable nature andwill not readily become disarranged and will operate with certainty toeect the function for which they have been devised.

This device may also be used on main tracks where the main track of oneline crosses the main track of another line. Y

Having thus fully described the invention, what is claimed as new isl.The combination with a main track and.

siding having switch-rails operative to connect and disconnect thesiding in relation to` casing to which one rod is terminally connected,the extremity of the remaining rod movably projecting into the casing,and a spring in the casing engaged by the extremity of the rodprojecting into said casing.

2. The'combination with a main track and siding having switch-railscoperating therewith, of means for moving the switch-rails, andcar-holding means including elongated bars having hooked terminalsdisposed in operative relation to the rails of the siding and connectedto the means for moving the switchrails, the said bars being adapted tobe thrown above the plane of the track-bed.

3. The combination with a main track and siding having switch-railsoperative to connect and disconnect the siding in relation to the maintrack, of car-holding means disposed in operative relation to the railsof the siding, shifting means for the switch-rails, and connectingdevices interposed between the said shifting means and the car-holdingmeans and consisting of rod-sections, and a support having a springtherein, the one rod-section being terminally secured tothe support andthe extremity of the other rod-section movable in said support.

In testimony whereof I ailix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

HORATIO SMELSER.

Witnesses:

WM. SMELsER, v ALPHA SMELsER.

